A community centre in the heart of Scunthorpe is seeing over 800 people a week through its doors, with regular users describing it as “a lifeline”.
Scunthorpe Central Community Centre in Carlton Street is located by the bus station and the NHS community diagnostic centre (CDC) being built. It was opened in 1973 and has supported town residents ever since. The building is council-owned, but a registered charity runs the centre.
From a Dungeons and Dragons group, to Zumba classes, to mental health wellbeing sessions, to simply a place to socialise with its pool table, table tennis and cafè, there is effectively something for everyone at the centre. Scunthorpe Live was given a tour by administrator Adam Doncaster, and spoke to Cllrs Lorraine Yeadon, Tony Ellerby and Darryl Southern, who are all trustees of the centre, on its future.
“It is a real community feel,” said Adam. “Anyone that wants to use the community centre, no-one’s excluded. Anybody can rent it, any community.” It is possible to book by calling, sending an email, or through Facebook, with affordable prices. An hour’s hire of the sports hall only sets a group back by £18, for instance. The centre has hosted Asian community weddings and kid’s parties in the past, as well as the clubs and groups.
The centre’s current regular weekly schedule is pushing almost 30 different events, from a variety of exercise classes, to a Buddhist meditation group, to a Friday afternoon tea and dance group.
The centre is all one storey and packs much inside. Besides the cafè, there are meeting rooms, activities rooms, a small outdoor courtyard area used in summer, a hall, a sports hall, and a mini books hub at the entrance.
There is also a massage business that leases part of the centre out, and offices are also leased. These are currently being used by builders of the CDC next door.
(Image: Scunthorpe Central Community Centre)
Taking the use of one meeting room as an example, Adam spoke about its importance for the Dungeons and Dragons group. “They can come in here every week, they’ve got a safe and secure space, they come in the evening. It’s somewhere that’s central, so they can come on the bus and park here. They age from like 16 up to 30, 40 years old.”
“But this room’s also used by the NHS. They have a group with brain injuries. They come in here and do memory clinics. It’s lovely when they come, they have a 14 week session. When I’m in the office, you can hear them, they start with a song, and they end with a song. And then next week, they try and remember the words without the card, it moves on like that.
“It’s wonderful that it’s so diverse, from people that are playing games, to people that are actually getting wellness.” Adam is part of just six employed staff, with around a dozen volunteers from various groups, who help run the centre. Users, Adam and councillors all particularly praised volunteer Penny Goulding.
“We have a wonderful volunteer, Penny, who does the caretaking, but she also runs the fitness classes. She must be here from eight o’clock in the morning to god knows what time every single day.” Cllr Southern summed up those helping to run the centre’s activities: “People with passion.”
‘A lifeline’
Scunthorpe Live spoke to several Armed Forces veterans who come and have lunch on a Friday at the centre. “The food is absolutely superb, proper homemade grub,” they said. Part of this group were Ian Bulleyment and husband Tim Mills, and Brian Walters. Brian is involved with two Hull 4 Heroes mental health support groups for veterans in Scunthorpe, GEO and LISA.
“I’ve got to admit they’ve been a real help to me,” said Tim, of the veterans he meets up with through the centre. He was put in touch with Fighting with Pride, to get his personal apology from the Armed Forces after being barred from the Navy around 40 years ago due to being gay. “It’s a very good social meeting place,” he said of the centre, which he had run drag shows at with Ian too.
“I’ve been coming here for over seven years,” said Ian. “We pop in and out through the week really.”
“You can go virtually sit anywhere and you’ll soon start chatting to anyone,” said Brian. “A lot of people rely on it for their mental health, there’s nowhere else like this, I don’t think, in Scunthorpe.”
Joanne Parker had just been in the morning Zumba class. “There’s always something going on, always, and it’s a lifeline for the local community. Especially for the elderly and isolated.”
(Image: LDR)
The centre is not without its challenges – a window in a conservatory extension was damaged by material thrown off the nearby car park. Fortunately, the builders of the CDC have said they will fix it. “The builders are supporting the centre by doing odd jobs for them,” said Cllr Ellerby.
A future article will cover the energy millstone the centre has faced in the last two years, and the ongoing discussions over its location in years to come.
A box with notes of what the centre means to users sat by the entrance. “The community centre is a real asset to Scunthorpe and the local area,” stated one of the significant bundle of written messages.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
